Politics has long been a dirty business, and now, thankfully, it appears to have become a humorous one as well. This recent lightening of mood can be largely attributed to one influence in particular: the watchful eye of Jon Stewart. After almost 10 years as the host of The Daily Show, the popular late-night media satire program that describes itself as a "fake news" show, Stewart's witty observations have elevated him into more of a rock star than comedian, a cult-followed commentator-the people's pundit, if you will.

Sitting behind a news desk and looking dapper in a suit and tie, this "fake news anchor" delivers barbs that are so direct, and commentary so exposing, it is hard for some to discern him from the real thing. When the public was asked in a 2007 media research poll to name the journalist they most admired, coming in at fourth place, and tying with real-deal anchors Brian Williams and Tom Brokaw of NBC, Dan Rather of CBS and Anderson Cooper of CNN, was actor and writer Jon Stewart of Comedy Central. So just what is this funny talking-head doing on his show that causes the public to confuse him with a serious news journalist?

For one thing, Stewart is a common-sense distillery. He pokes through the media scraps of the day, extracts those he considers the most absurd, potentially volatile and hypocritical, and deftly processes them for our consumption. A media moonshiner, Stewart then serves up a smart and succinct half-hour shot of commentary-enough to dull the pain, but not deaden the senses. It is hilarious and insightful, and better still, doesn't depress the voting public.

Stewart is the major player of a satiric television vanguard that is making politics palatable. He isn't just heckling; his critique of the news, and newsmen, makes people think. So fake journalist or funny man, Stewart is widely recognized as a man to be taken seriously.

Even though Stewart insists his mission is a comedic one, a purpose to entertain rather than inform, Stewart has tuned a whole new generation into his brand of media, allowing them to follow the actions of politicians with the same interest they would a celebrity. "They always say politics is show business for ugly people," Stewart once observed, "but I think a much more appropriate saying would be that Washington is Hollywood that actually matters. These are people who, for all their apparent insanity, control nearly every aspect of our lives."

Stewart understands that power and brains are often mutually exclusive-so much so that his material of politico video clips and sound bites will never dry up-and having created a platform of ridicule and reform (like a modern-day H.L. Mencken, set on comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comforted), there is no more suitable lodging for him and his Daily Show team than the current national conventions.

Reporting on-site from both rabble-rousing convention destinations, Denver and St. Paul, the DS's access and high caliber of guests illustrate the show's spike in influence since its 1999 presidential campaign debut, the prophetically titled "Indecision 2000." With correspondents at the time including actor Steve Carrell and Stephen Colbert, of The Colbert Report, Stewart was self-deprecating of his no-areas access, promising coverage of "all the day's events-or at least the ones we're allowed into." For the "Indecision 2008" convention coverage, Stewart dispensed "the best f#@*ing news team on the planet" amid the party delegates; given his growing gravitas, Stewart didn't have to look hard to unearth the big names for both parties, plus more than a few grass-roots, mock-worthy subjects along the way.

At "Guess Who's Coming to Denver," as The Daily Show titled its coverage of the Democratic Convention, Stewart noted "There is no middle ground in Colorado; here, you're either a rapture-awaiting promise keeper, or you drive a car that runs on gorp." Obama delivered "hype we can believe in," and as Joe Biden, Bill Clinton and John Kerry offered support; Stewart noted "there's still room in the Democratic Party for older, verbose white men-or Alabaster Muskateers."

After a clip of Kerry introducing Obama's great-uncle Charlie Payne, a WWII veteran, Stewart deadpanned: "Are you f#@%ing kidding me? Barack Obama has an adorable, white, war-hero uncle? If I'm Obama, every time I'm campaigning down South, I'm having that guy strapped into a Baby Björn and walking around."

We all understand that it would take a healthy amount of self-esteem to run for president, vowing you can improve the fate of your country, so when Obama again played the modesty card at Mile High Stadium, presenting himself to a stadium bowl of 75,000 supporters with "great humility," Stewart countered: "A less humble man would have spoken at the Grand Canyon." And as an antidote to the emotive, second-coming spectacle that was Obama's appearance, Stewart created a riotous Lion King montage: as Circle of Life played as a soundtrack, and the animals bowed down, the wriggling lion cub held aloft had Barack's face.

When the campaign carnival traveled to Minnesota, Stewart was waiting to greet the delegates via a Daily Show billboard: his smug smiling image with the words "Welcome, Rich White Oligarchs!" The Republicans were distracted, however; a few developments had made their convention a hotbed of speculation and gossip. One curveball saw McCain's new VP pick, the little-known conservative governor from Alaska, Sarah Palin, announcing that her unmarried, 17-year-old daughter was five months pregnant. Amid the rumors and muck-raking, Stewart chose to avoid the low-hanging fruit and not make much of the scandal. Like Obama himself, and unlike many of his media colleagues, Stewart has a hold on who the real targets are.

Unable to ignore the fact that McCain's main criticism of Obama was his apparent lack of experience, Stewart was bemused that the Republican nominee selected "a running mate whose résumé appears to be more suited for a Northern Exposure reunion show."

Stewart discussed McCain's thinly veiled selection with "correspondent" Samantha Bee in signature straight-faced style:

Then there was the looming threat of Hurricane Gustav, which some Republican analysts posed as a potential redo for Katrina, the hurricane that in 2005 decimated New Orleans and the party's reputation for competence. As the Gulf Coast braced itself for more devastation, the Republicans canceled the first night's speeches and many senior politicians, including President Bush and McCain, decamped to emergency command centers around the country, where they were seen being briefed and helping to pack supplies. As the storm cleared it seemed the city had dodged a major bullet, but Jon Stewart had the Republicans in his firing line.

When CNN's Republican-friendly Gloria Borger was shown commenting that Republicans could view the potential crisis as an opportunity, "if they wanted to be crassly political about it," Stewart asked with a smirk and a tilted eyebrow, "But do they? Do they want to be crassly political? You know, my head says they do, but my heart says they dooooo." He then cut to a talking-head clip of a robotic, emotionless Karl Rove: "You've got to show empathy, and you could imagine the desire of a politician running for office to show empathy." With a mechanical voice and arms stretched out in a Frankensteinish manner, Stewart hammed, "Hello, hu-man, I see you are drowning-slash-poor," then with an animatronic head-patting gesture: "There, there; there, there."

Meanwhile, down at the convention center, Daily Show reporters sardonically compared the thronging Republican delegates to the Katrina stadium evacuees. To an emotional soundtrack, they sadly narrated the spectacle atmosphere: "While the Republican leadership raced to the Gulf to demonstrate empathy this week, this sizeable group of people were left out and left behind. Abandoned in the Xcel Center, tired, hungry and desperate... As you look down upon this sea of white faces, you realize it's a whole different country, invisible to most Americans, who are unaware of the grinding prosperity just miles from where they live... The situation is bleak. The merlot gone; cabernet sauvignon down to the last few cases."

When NBC journalist Brian Williams, a popular Daily Show guest, visited their convention set, he and Stewart faced off with a deft and amusing repartee. As Stewart beat up on the prime-time anchor about the loose-cannon exchanges of MSNBC anchors, an apologetic but defensive Williams started, "Well, every family has a dynamic all its own..."

"Yes, but does MSNBC have to be the Lohans?" shot Stewart.

Still in the midst of the Palin skeleton-digging frenzy, Stewart posed, "I heard [Palin] is made up of discarded organs from cadavers. Is that true?"

Williams cocked his eyebrow and drily responded, "It must be nice, Jon, to have a little liberal salon." Freedom is power, or so they say, as was all too apparent when the mere reporter of politics came face to face with the man allowed to be the funny arbiter.

If Stewart's role is now enviable, it was equally hardwon. Raised in New Jersey as Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz, Stewart, now a father of two, divides his time between homes in Manhattan and Sag Harbor. In high school he was voted "best sense of humor" and describes himself as having been a "bit of a leftist" at the time, before moving to university in Virginia, where he studied psychology. "Miserable" at college, Stewart was heavily involved with the soccer team but it didn't take him long to remove himself from his fraternity activities. While Stewart's humor sometimes sinks into frattish gags, the blows are sharp without being savage-so it makes sense that it was his distaste of hazing that caused Stewart to isolate himself from frat buddies. (Why is it though, that I think he would make an exception if it came to waterboarding George Bush...)

With a career trajectory that could be described as meandering at best, Stewart has worked as a construction worker, busboy, caterer, puppeteer for children with disabilities, high-school soccer coach and, of course, stand-up comedian and talk-show host, before taking over as host of The Daily Show in 1999.

As host of a media show with no obvious political agenda-even though Stewart is a little more scathing to one side of the bench-and no party affiliation other than "independent," Stewart won't play the monkey to anyone's organ-grinder [see box above]. Stewart insists he's in it for the laughs: "The same weakness that drove me into comedy also informs my show."

Stewart has spawned a new generation of Daily Show devotees, who appreciate his absurd frankness and belief that you shouldn't have to respect your elders unless they deserve it. A recent study showed that 18-29-year-olds get most of their political news from The Daily Show, and media types, Matt Lauer included, are crediting his influence with driving young people to the polls. But despite this younger following, Stewart is not one who strains to be hip. "I can't be too hip," says Stewart. "Then I'd have to get a BlackBerry, and I'm wired in, and next thing you know, I'm at a Black-Eyed Peas concert with a crack problem. I just can't go down that road."

Deftly walking the line between media and politics, Stewart is just as censorious of the chroniclers of this circus as he is of the performers. "The way I've always looked at it is... When you go to a zoo and you see a monkey throwing its shit, you can't get mad. That's what monkeys do. But you want the media at some point to go, "No! Bad monkey!" Stewart continues, "And that's really the direction we should be going in. Not for Republican desires or Democrat desires, but for truth."

History dictates that humor-rather than preaching-has been long been a catalyst for reform. Power that is above criticism makes for a dictator, not a politician; for this, Jon Stewart is really the guy bringing hope to the 2008 election. A clear note in a clanging orchestra, Stewart brings the small comfort that even if they are getting away with it, they're not going unmocked.

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